Macro Monday: China struggles as global equities push to new highs

Official data released on Saturday showed that China’s new home prices fell at their fastest pace in more than nine years in August, with economic stimulus failing to deliver a meaningful recovery in the country’s property sector. New home prices fell 5.3% YoY, the fastest pace since May 2015, compared with a 4.9% slide in July. In monthly terms, new home prices fell for the 14^th straight month, down 0.7%, matching a dip in July. Much to Beijing’s chagrin, China’s property market continues to struggle with heavily indebted developers, unfinished apartments, and declining buyer confidence, weighing on the overall financial system and endangering the year’s 5% economic growth target.

scroll

OPINION
ACTION

Latest Reports

Weekend report 24/05/2025 09:42

Weekend Q&A: The RBA supports the ASX, but Trump’s back on the prowl

The ASX 200 ended the week up 2.47% courtesy of the widely anticipated RBA rate cut and Michele Bullock's not-so-widely-expected dovish rhetoric. Credit markets are now looking for an additional three rate cuts by Christmas or February’26 at the latest. Not surprisingly, the rate-sensitive names led the advance, with tech, real estate, and financial stocks adding the most points to the index, riding the RBA wave of optimism, although there were plenty of losers on the stock level, as the macro and economic news kept on flowing.

Afternoon report 23/05/2025 17:03

The Match Out: ASX meanders into the weekend, Trump goes nuclear

A relatively quiet session played out on the ASX today after flat U.S markets overnight and mild Futures this morning with limited news on the corporate front providing limited direction for the local bourse

Morning report 23/05/2025 09:42

What Matters Today: ETF Friday focuses on Currency offerings

The ASX 200 retreated on Thursday following a bond-induced weak session on Wall Street; the Dow ultimately closed down over 800 points. However, while the local bond market remains buoyant, following the dovish RBA commentary earlier in the week, with three cuts expected before Christmas, it wasn’t enough to support a market with over 60% of the main board closing lower.

Afternoon report 22/05/2025 17:11

The Match Out: ASX down but does better than Wall Street.

A weaker session for the ASX, though a drop of 0.45% relative to the 1.6% decline on Wall Street shows good relative performance, which has been an ongoing theme in recent months. Gold stocks did well again while there was some sporadic corporate news flow that impacted individual names, but not a lot of top tier news flow today.

Morning report 22/05/2025 09:36

What Matters Today: Can the other banks follow CBA to new highs?

The ASX 200 extended May's advance to +3.2%, taking the index within striking distance of its February all-time high. However, although the market finished up 0.5%, gains were far from broad-based, with over 45% of the ASX200 closing lower.

Afternoon report 21/05/2025 17:39

The Match Out: RBA rate cut fuels ASX higher, gold back on track

The ASX hit a new 3-month high today on residual optimism from yesterdays more dovish RBA rhetoric. The majority of stocks rallied, banks pushed up again and we saw a number of corporates provide solid updates, though not all were rosy. The backdrop for Australian equities has certainly improved in the last month, and it just seems a matter of time before we’re writing about new all-time highs at the index level.

Alerts 21/05/2025 10:50

Trade Alerts – Income & Emerging Companies Portfolios

We are making changes across two portfolios.

Morning report 21/05/2025 09:38

Portfolio Positioning: The RBA delivers the “Goldilocks scenario” for stocks

The ASX200 advanced +0.6% on Tuesday following the 0.25% rate cut by the RBA and a far more dovish outlook from Michele Bullock. Bond yields plunged on commentary about inflation, now within the RBA target band both in terms of the headline rate and the trimmed mean, with RBA forecasts expecting it to stay that way.

Afternoon report 20/05/2025 16:58

The Match Out: Rate cut as expected, with more to come it seems. “For now, we’re in a good position” says the RBA

An interesting session for Aussie stocks, with initial strength being sold into, which has been a trend of late, only for the RBA to deliver a more ‘dovish’ cut than expected at 2.30pm which prompted a good bounce across most sectors into the close.

Alerts 20/05/2025 09:51